What happened

Samsung smart TVs have used automated content recognition (ACR) software that captures screenshots or raw data from the screen every few hundred milliseconds to identify everything being watched, including cable, streaming apps, gaming consoles and even content from laptops connected by HDMI.

Class‑action lawsuits in the US allege that Samsung also caused some models to listen to and record private conversations in the home and to transmit those recordings and viewing data to third parties, all without users’ informed consent.

Texas sued Samsung for unlawfully collecting viewing data from smart TVs and described the ACR system as an “invisible digital invader” monitoring millions of TVs, prompting a settlement that forces Samsung to stop collecting or processing ACR viewing data from Texans without explicit, informed consent.

Consumers directly affected experienced an invasion of privacy in their homes, distress and loss of trust, as well as the loss of control over how their personal media habits and conversations were harvested, profiled and monetised.

Why it happened

Samsung marketed its ACR system as a way to enhance content recommendations and advertising relevance, framing mass data collection as a consumer benefit. But the root problem is one of consent design: privacy settings existed, but they were buried and not proactively presented to users.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argues that customers did not meaningfully consent to this data collection, which he calls "watchware," framing it as deliberate monitoring rather than an accident. Samsung's privacy notice is alleged to downplay the scope of data collection by referring to "processing" viewing history, obscuring what is actually happening.

Samsung disclaims liability for the privacy and security practices of the third parties to which it transfers user data, and failed to disclose in its privacy policy the name of the company to whom it was transmitting user data.This reflects a pattern of using vague language and layered disclosures to avoid accountability.